Chicago City Wire

West 103rd ridership decreased by 55.6 percent during October 2020 compared to the previous year, according to the Chicago Transportation Authority.

The CTA calculates ridership by counting the customers who board a transit vehicle (bus or rail). The route that saw the largest decrease in ridership was Stockton/LaSalle Express with a 95.2 percent drop.

Bus transit experienced a 59.2 percent decline in ridership overall during the month. Train ridership across the city during the same month saw a decrease of 76.9 percent year over year. The train station that saw the largest decrease was the UIC-Halsted station with a decrease of 89.6 percent.

So far, the CTA has made no service cuts, even with the decrease in ridership. The Metra, which provides service to many of Chicago’s suburbs, has seen a 97 percent decrease in ridership, according to the Active Transportation Alliance. According to the Federal Transit Authority, Chicago’s public transportation sector received $1.43 billion in bailout funds from the CARES act to combat the decrease in ridership.

Rank	Route	Ridership decline year over year (%)
1	Stockton/LaSalle Express	95.2
2	Union/Streeterville Express	93.8
3	Ogilvie/Streeterville Express	93.4
4	Clarendon/LaSalle Express	90.8
5	Water Tower Express	90
5	Evanston Circulator	90
7	Sedgwick	89
7	LaSalle	89
9	Bronzeville/Union Station	88.4
10	U. of Chicago/Kenwood	87.8
11	Stockton/Michigan Express	87.4
12	Sheridan/LaSalle Express	86
12	Navy Pier	86
12	Hyde Park Express	86
15	U. of Chicago/Hyde Park	84.6
16	Streeterville/Taylor	82
17	U. of Chicago Hospitals Express	81.2
18	Clarendon/Michigan Express	80.1
19	55th/Austin	80
20	31st	78
21	Harrison	75.9
21	Narragansett/Ridgeland	75.9
23	Wentworth	72.8
24	Central/Ridge	71.7
25	Grand	71.5
26	South Dam en	70.4
27	Western Express	68.9
28	Halsted	68.7
29	Kedzie	68.5
30	Blue Island/26th	68.1
31	Montrose	67.9
31	Addison	67.9
33	East 103rd	67.2
34	Ashland Express	67.1
35	Armitage	67
36	Jackson	66.1
37	State	66
38	Damen	65.4
39	Chicago	64.4
40	Inner Drive/Michigan Express	64.3
41	31st/35th	63.9
42	West 65th	63.8
43	55th/Narragansett	63.7
44	South Shore Express	63.6
45	North Cicero/Skokie Blvd.	62.7
46	Lunt	62.6
47	Sheridan	62.4
48	16th/18th	62.3
49	Milwaukee	62
49	Archer	62
49	Jeffery Jump	62
49	Higgins	62
53	Jackson Park Express	61
53	South Pulaski	61
53	Peterson	61
56	Belmont	60.4
57	Fullerton	60.2
57	Halsted/95th	60.2
59	Pershing	59.7
59	Diversey	59.7
61	Northwest Highway	59.6
62	51st	58.3
63	North	58.2
64	King Drive	58.1
65	Garfield	57.7
65	59th/61st	57.7
65	Kimball-Homan	57.7
68	Roosevelt	57.5
68	Madison	57.5
70	Stony Island	57.4
70	Pullman/115th	57.4
72	Wallace-Racine	57.3
73	Division	57.2
74	Vincennes/111th	56.9
75	Laramie	56.8
76	Outer Drive Express	56.7
77	Irving Park	56.6
78	Clark	56.3
79	South Kedzie	56.1
80	West Lawrence	55.9
81	West 103rd	55.6
82	South Shore Night Bus	55.1
82	Lincoln	55.1
82	California/Dodge	55.1
85	87th	54.9
86	Skokie	54.4
87	63rd	54.3
88	Cottage Grove	54.2
88	West 63rd	54.2
90	South Chicago	54.1
91	Jeffery Manor Express	53.9
92	South Michigan	53.7
93	Western	53.5
94	Archer/Harlem	53.3
95	Cermak	53.2
96	67th-69th-71st	53
96	North Western	53
96	111th/King Drive	53
99	74th-75th	52
99	95th	52
99	Broadway	52
99	Pulaski	52
99	Jeffery Local	52
104	79th	50.7
105	Foster	50.6
106	71st/South Shore	50.3
107	Michigan/119th	49.8
108	Devon	49.7
109	Harlem	49.6
110	43rd	49.5
111	Austin	49.4
112	47th	49.2
113	Cicero	48.8
114	Central	48.3
115	Lawrence	47.8
116	South Halsted	47
117	Ashland	46.4
118	South Cicero	46
119	California	41.2
120	North Central	39.2
121	Pullman Shuttle	22.2
122	69th-UPS Express	17.2